Travelling With a Baby: Pushchairs, Car Seats and What Actually Gets Used

Travel equipment for babies is bought early, used constantly, and chosen badly more often than any other category — usually because it is chosen in a shop rather than against the routes, doorways and vehicles it will actually be used with.

Pushchairs: measure before you fall in love

• Folded size against your boot. Measure the boot, including the lip you have to lift over. This eliminates more models than any other factor.
• Folded size against your hallway or storage. If it lives indoors, it has to fit indoors.
• Weight, honestly assessed. You will lift it repeatedly, often one-handed, often with the baby in the other arm.
• One-handed fold. Sounds like a marketing feature until you have a baby on one hip.
• Wheels for your surfaces. Small hard wheels are fine on pavement and poor on gravel, grass or cobbles.
• Width against your front door and local shop aisles.

Travel systems — a pushchair frame accepting an infant car seat — save a great deal in the early months if the car seat is one you would choose anyway. Buying a poor car seat to get the system is the wrong way round.

Car seats: the non-negotiable part

A car seat is safety equipment, and the ordinary shopping logic does not apply.

• Never buy a used car seat unless you know its full history. A seat involved in a collision must be replaced, and damage is not visible.
• Check it fits your specific car. Manufacturers publish vehicle compatibility lists. Not every seat fits every car, and a poor fit is a real safety problem.
• Check the fitting method your car supports — the standardised anchor system or a seatbelt installation — and that the seat matches it.
• Check the current safety standard for your market. Older standards are still sold in some places.
• Get the fit checked by someone trained, where that service is available. Incorrect installation is common.

Carriers and slings

Often more useful than a pushchair for short trips, public transport and anywhere with steps. Fit matters: the carrier should hold the baby high and close, with the hips supported in a seated position rather than hanging by the legs. Try before buying where you can, since torso length differs between adults and a carrier that suits one parent may not suit the other.

What actually gets used away from home

A changing bag with a wipeable mat, spare clothes for both of you, and a way to carry the baby hands-free. Almost everything else can be bought at the destination. The most common travel mistake is packing for every eventuality and then being unable to carry it.

Before you order

Measure your boot and your hallway before choosing a pushchair. Check the car seat manufacturer's compatibility list for your exact car model. Check whether the retailer offers a fitting service. And check the return terms, since travel equipment is expensive and a model that does not fit your car or your boot needs to go back.